The Executive Pay Game, 1999

Among small companies, salaries are still all over the map, mainly because compensation is driven more by the philosophy of the founders or CEOs than by hard data.

But companies competing for talent nationwide can't afford to be completely in the dark. Plus, base pay will likely take on a more significant role in compensation packages should there be an economic downturn. That's when stock options lose their luster and salary suddenly counts for more. Here are some salary and bonus ranges to benchmark your company's rates against:

ORGANIZATION SIZE: $3 MILLION IN ANNUAL REVENUES

Position

AnnualCompensation

Total Compensation

Chief executive officer

Salary

Bonus

Estimated projected mean compensationMaximum reasonable compensation

$108,327$198,530

$39,813$179,463

$148,140$377,993

Chief operating officer

Estimated projected mean compensationMaximum reasonable compensation

$88,651$162,474

$21,612$118,880

$110,263 $281,354

Chief marketing and sales officer

Estimated projected mean compensationMaximum reasonable compensation

$65,795$117,694

$21,367$97,578

$87,162$215,272

Chief financial officer

Estimated projected mean compensationMaximum reasonable compensation

$57,863$102,945

$11,425$66,933

$69,288$169,878

Chief human-resources officer

Estimated projected mean compensationMaximum reasonable compensation

$43,291$74,297

$6,417$41,749

$49,708$116,046

ORGANIZATION SIZE: $10 MILLION IN ANNUAL REVENUES

Position

Annual Compensation

Total Compensation

Chief executive officer

Salary

Bonus

Estimated projected mean compensationMaximum reasonable compensation

$163,688$299,991

$51,463$248,989

$215,151$548,980

Chief operating officer

Estimated projected mean compensationMaximum reasonable compensation

$133,855$245,321

$26,285$163,305

$160,140$408,626

Chief marketing and sales officer

Estimated projected mean compensationMaximum reasonable compensation

$99,352$177,720

$27,238$134,931

$126,590$312,651

Chief financial officer

Estimated projected mean compensationMaximum reasonable compensation

$87,253$155,233

$13,378$91,491

$100,631$246,724

Chief human-resources officer

Estimated projected mean compensationMaximum reasonable compensation

$65,260$112,000

$6,934$56,540

$72,194 $168,540

Source: Economic Research Institute (ERI), Redmond, Wash., 800-627-3697, www.erieri.com, January 1999. ERI's figures are projections calculated from compensation data from thousands of companies, as reported in a variety of public and private sources.